Jazz Recommendations – 2016 releases

Grand Line is an album crafted out of the materials of a swirling mist.  It has a presence, yet it’s one that is primarily ethereal.  From certain vantage points, it seems that contours and definition can be traced to an origin point, yet this is an album that is inherently formless.  What makes it so striking is the way Nakama allows certain patterns to emerge, and though they never seem to indicate how they are part of the greater whole, their self-referential nature creates a latticework of melodic phrases and rhythmic concepts… implying cohesion while existing in a state of chaotic randomness.

The hypnotic repetitions from piano on the expansive opening track “Doremingo + Taiko – Grand Line” are echoed in the cyclic phrasings on “Suffering + Daily Choices Fail Compilation,” while the violin lightning strikes from the opener share a common DNA with the flashing bursts on “Daily Choices – Metro.”  This, too, in how the sudden furious attack of drums on “Nanika – Decks” is played out again as a peaceful dream on “The Sun – Uzumaki” and the way a skittering bass on “Tsunagari – Split & Curve” is just one degree removed from the stalking cadence on “Kusama – Events.”  And these are just the immediately obvious examples of pattern recognition.  The more the album is played, the more it has to reveal.

Your album personnel:  Adrian Løseth Waade (violin), Ayumi Tanaka (piano), Andreas Wildhagen (drums) and Christian Meaas Svendsen (bass).

Released on Nakama Records.

Listen to more album tracks at the label’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Oslo, Norway scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

Fissura is an album built on a foundation of conflict and contradiction.  The music possesses the lethal force of a live wire, yet also a hazy sonority that mutes any suggestion of aggression.  At times the music flails about dramatically, as it does on the title-track, but then there are tracks like “Haiku” and “O Bem do Mar” that reflect the inner peace of sunrise.  And this, too, is juxtaposed against the lumbering cadence of “Sisyphus,” a tune that adopts its own motion, its own tonal implications.

Bassist Gui Duvignau somehow gets them all to fit into the same stream of imagery, as if shaping dreams on the fly but with a precise choreography in mind.  This results in an appealing looseness of delivery and form, while behaving with a logic that often only becomes apparent in hindsight.  It also means that none of its edginess is sacrificed when the music enters a state of serenity.

A seriously compelling album.

Your album personnel:  Gui Duvignau (double bass, electric bass), Jonathan Orland (alto sax, clarinet), Julien Pontvianne (tenor sax, clarinet), Federico Casagrande (guitar), Thomas Caillou (guitar) and Thibault Perriard (drums).

Released on the Onze Heures Onze label.

Listen to more album tracks at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the São Paulo, Brazil scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic

There’s a powerful allure to Ensam that isn’t immediately apparent, but it’s the kind of thing that pulls you across the bar to buy the album a drink in something of a disembodied trance.  The trio of drummer Kevin Brady, bassist Dave Redmond and pianist Bill Carrothers keep to a straight-ahead sound, but phrase things in a way that maximizes the tonal effect to a very slow hypnosis.  Opening track “How the Other Half Lives” and title-track “Ensam” slide past at an unhurried pace, like the image of stars imperceptibly moving across the nighttime horizon.

Thankfully, they do kick the tempo up a notch on “Yoopers,” and the intentional messiness of the melody is a needed contrast to the elegance that defines this recording.  “Checkpoint Charlie” does the same, but it’s the song’s lurching cadence juxtaposed against a thick blues that sets it apart.  Vocalist Norma Winstone sits in for a few tracks.  Her voice is a nice fit for the trio’s smoky presence, but the best of her contributions comes up on the cheerful “Southern Smiles,” a tuneful piece that emits a warmth reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi.

This is an album likely to make an immediate impression, but it will come with time to reveal the nuance and details that earns it appreciation.

Your album personnel:  Kevin Brady (drums, percussion), Bill Carrothers (piano), Dave Redmond (double bass) and guest: Norma Winstone (vocals).

The album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more album tracks on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Dublin, Ireland scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

It’s pretty easy to slide into the cinematic imagery conjured up by multi-instrumentalist Alex Puddu.  The Italian movie genre of giallo is his inspiration for this set of tunes, and Puddu gives In The Eye Of The Cat all the frenetic action, ominous danger, and suave personality that this particular style of storytelling demands.

The cool groove of “Il Sogno La Luna” strolls casually down midnight city streets.  “The Bull,” on the other hand, is a groove customized for car chases down those same city streets in the bold light of day.  And title-track “In the Eye of the Cat” decides that streets are for dancing.

But it’s not all about the grooves.  On tracks like “Magic Mountain” and “Una Donna allo Specchio,” the melodies step up and exert their hypnotic influence over the sonic imagery.  On the former, it’s done with fluid, quick lines of detail, whereas on the later, it’s a smooth pour of water.

Edda Dell’Orso adds her voice to some of the tracks, and she lends them much the same haunting beauty that she does the various soundtracks of Ennio Morricone.  Puddu utilizes an array of instruments, and it brings all kinds of texture and depth to the set.  This, plus string contributions from Orchestra Cinefonica di Roma cinch the deal, making this album as intriguing as it is fun.

Your album personnel:  Alex Puddu (organ, dulcimer, bouzouki, percussion, piano, conga, harpsichord, tambourine, zither, claves, crumar, flute, moog, bongos, cello, violin, drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars), Edda Dell’Orso (vocals), Jesper Lovdal (flute, saxophone), Morten Gronvad (percussion, bongos, conga), Hendrik Jørgensen (trumpet), Gavino Congiatta (electric bass), Massimo Florentino (organ, piccolo), Orchestra Cinefonica di Roma (strings) with those strings orchestrated and conducted by Giacomo Dell’Orso.

Released on Schema Records.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Copenhagen scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic